While presenting the Union Budget 2024-2025 in the Parliament today, the Union Minister said that the country has successfully used technology to improve productivity and bridge inequality in the economy during the past 10 years and has announced several measures to step up the adoption of technology towards digitalization of the economy.
DATA AND STATISTICS- For improving data governance, collection, processing and management of data and statistics, different sectoral databases, including those established under the Digital India mission, will be utilized with active use of technology tools, the Union Finance Minister announced.
MOBILE PHONE AND RELATED PARTS- The Finance Minister emphasized that with a three-fold increase in domestic production and almost 100-fold jump in exports of mobile phones over the last six years, the Indian mobile phone industry has matured. In the interest of consumers, the budget proposes to reduce the Customs duty on mobile phones, mobile PCBA and mobile charger to 15%.
ELECTRONICS- The Finance Minister also said that to increase value addition in the domestic electronics industry, the government proposes to remove the customs duty, subject to conditions, on oxygen-free copper for the manufacture of resistors and to exempt certain parts for the manufacture of connectors.
TELECOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT- To incentivise domestic manufacturing, the Finance Minister also proposes to increase the Customs duty from 10 to 15 percent on PCBA of specified telecom equipment.
DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE (DPI) APPLICATIONS- Turning to the services sector, the Finance Minister proposes development of DPI applications at a population scale for productivity gains, business opportunities, and innovation by the private sector. These are planned in the areas of credit, e-commerce, education, health, law and justice, logistics, MSME, service delivery.
The Finance Minister also said that with continued emphasis on expanding the space economy by 5 times in the next 10 years, a venture capital fund of Rs. 1,000 crore will be set up.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed acquisition of 16.12% shareholding in Shriram LI Holdings Private Limited (SLIH) by Sanlam Emerging Markets (Mauritius) Limited (SEMM). The proposed combination envisages the acquisition of 16.12% from its existing shareholders.
SLIH is the promoter and holding company of Shriram Life Insurance Company Limited (SLIC). SLIH has a 74.56% stake in SLIC.
SEMM, incorporated in Mauritius, is a 100% subsidiary of Sanlam Limited, South Africa. It is part of the Sanlam Group.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed combination involving, inter alia, Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited (Amazon Asia-Pacific), Frontizo Business Services Private Limited (Frontizo), Appario Retail Private Limited (Appario), Haverl LLC (Haverl) and Clicktech Retail Private Limited (CRPL).
The Proposed Combination involves-:
Acquisition by Amazon Asia-Pacific of 76% of the equity shares in Frontizo from Zodiac Wealth Advisors LLP (Zodiac).
Acquisition of Appario’s entire business, as a going concern, by CRPL,
Acquisition of 1% shareholding by Haverl in New Trends Commerce Private Limited (NTCPL)
Intra-group transactions among Clicktech Enterprises Private Limited (CEPL), NTCPL and CRPL.
Amazon Asia-Pacific acts as the seller of record for distribution of digital kindle content to end customers in India. Amazon.com, Inc, the ultimate parent company of Amazon Asia-Pacific, has certain indirect subsidiaries either registered in India or having business operations in India (Amazon Affiliates).
Frontizo’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Appario, is engaged in retail (B2C) business and wholesale (B2B) sales in India. It currently offers for sale products to customers on the Amazon India Marketplace, operated by ASSPL. Haverl is engaged in the business of making and holding investments. CEPL is the parent/holding entity of NTCPL.
NTCPL is the parent entity of CRPL. NTCPL would commence the business of providing Business Onboarding and Integration Services.
CRPL is engaged in B2C and B2B sales of products to customers on the Amazon India Marketplace.
Indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system Kavach deployed on 1465 Route km and 144 locomotives on South Central Railway. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system and a highly technology-intensive system, which requires safety certification of the highest order.
Kavach aids the loco pilot in train running within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the train safely run during inclement weather.Kavach has been certified for highest level of Safety Integrity Level -SIL4 by Independent Safety Assessor and reduces the probability of train collisions in block sections
Kavach has so far been deployed on 1465 Route km and 144 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on the South Central Railway. Further, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and Detailed Estimate on another 6000 RKms are approved on Indian Railways. To increase capacity and scale up implementation, trials of more OEMs are at different stages.
Kavach 4.0- On 16.07.2024, Kavach 4.0 specification was approved by Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO). This version covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. The funds utilized on Kavach so far is Rs 1216.77 Cr and the allocation of funds during the year 2024-25 stands at Rs 1112.57 Cr. ,Funds for Kavach is used for Kavach only.
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence System on July 24, 2024. The Target Missile was launched from LC-IV Dhamra at 1620 hrs mimicking adversary Ballistic Missile, which was detected by weapon system radars deployed on land and sea and activated the AD Interceptor system.
The Phase-II AD Endo-atmospheric missile was launched from LC-III at ITR, Chandipurat 1624 hrs. The flight test fully met all the trial objectives validating complete network centric warfare weapon system consisting of Long Range Sensors, low latency communication system and MCC and Advance Interceptor missiles.
The Phase-II AD Endo-atmospheric missile is an indigenously developed Two-stage solid propelled ground launched missile system meant for neutralising many types of enemy ballistic missile threats in the altitude bracket of endo to low exo-atmospheric regions.Some state-of-the-art Indigenous technologies developed by various DRDO laboratories have been incorporated in system
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO for today’s successful flight test and stated that it has again demonstrated the Ballistic Missiles Defence capability. Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated the entire DRDO team for their untiring effort and contribution culminating in a successful flight test.
In a significant step towards developing Indigenous technology, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier Telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi (IIT Mandi), for the development,
Of ‘Cell-Free’ 6G Access Points. Both the IITs are collaborating to develop this technology.
The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, which has been designed to provide funding support to domestic companies, Indian startups, academia,
And R&D institutions involved in technology design, development, and commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions. This scheme aims to enable affordable broadband and mobile services, playing a significant role in bridging the digital divide across India.
‘Cell-Free’ Massive MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) eliminates the idea of cells and cell boundaries by deploying several access points (APs) across a vast region to serve many user devices at the same time. A large number of APs are dedicated to each user within their coverage area, meaning a single user may be supported by many APs.
This 6G project will focus on developing APs for enabling the upcoming 6G radio access networks and also aims to contribute to the 6G standardization activity, drive commercialization, generate intellectual property rights (IPRs), and develop a skilled workforce to support the emerging 6G landscape.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by CEO, C-DOT - Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay, principal investigator – Dr Abhay Kumar Sah from IIT Roorkee, co-investigator – Dr Adarsh Patel from IIT Mandi and Director C-DOT, Dr Pankaj Kumar Dalela.
World Drowning Prevention Day, declared in April 2021 by General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/273, is held annually on 25 July. This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and to offer life-saving solutions to prevent it.
Globally, an estimated 236,000 lives are lost to drowning every year—an average of 650 every day, or 26 every hour.
This year, under the overarching theme "Anyone can drown, no one should," the World Health Organization has chosen the slogan "Seconds can save a life.
India has been ranked 82nd spot on a global passport index, allowing Indians visa-free entry to 58 countries, including popular destinations like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. According to the latest ranking by the UK-based Henley Passport Index, India’s passport now ranks at an improved 82nd spot.
The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association(IATA). Singapore occupied the top spot in the Index with its citizens having visa-free entry to 195 countries.It dethroned Japan from first place, which is now in second place along with Spain, France,Germany, and Italy.The passports of all five countries allow visa-free access to 192 destination.
An unprecedented seven-nation cohort, each with access to 191 destinations without a prior visa- Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden -- now sit in 3rd place on the ranking.The UAE made it into the Top 10 for the first time, having added an impressive 152 destinations since the index's inception in 2006 its current visa-free score 185.
According to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). India gained 2,66,000 hectares of forest area annually from 2010 to 2020, securing the third spot among the top 10 countries with the most significant forest area gains during this period, The report, said that China led the world with the maximum forest area gain of 1,937,000 hectares,
followed by Australia with 4,46,000 hectares, and then India. Other countries in the top 10 include Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the United States, France, Italy and Romania. The report highlighted a significant reduction in deforestation in some countries. For example, Indonesia saw an 8.4 percent decline in deforestation from 2021 to 2022,
while Brazil's Amazon experienced a 50 percent reduction in deforestation in 2023. The FAO report also said that the rate of gross global mangrove loss decreased by 23 percent during the periods from 2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2020.
The Bank of Baroda has launched a Generative AI-powered virtual relationship manager (VRM), a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Indian banking sector. The AI-powered VRM provides real-time information about the bank’s products and services. It also captures customer requirements for specific banking services.
The VRM communicates in multiple languages and is accessible through video, audio, and chat interfaces. It assist customers with everyday basic banking services, including account statements, chequebook requests, debit card requests, interest certificates, and more. This virtual VRM will be released in phases.
The bank has also announced other technology-led initiatives On the Bank’s 117th Foundation Day, including a credit line on UPI for enhancing payments and banking experience for customers. Initially, this feature will be available to Baroda Kisan Credit Card (BKCC) holders. With this facility, BKCC customers can effortlessly access a pre-approved credit line via UPI.
They can link their KCC account to UPI and use the credit line for specific merchant payments.
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which received approval of funding of $ 215.6 m from the Green Climate Fund, will create a corpus of $1 billion for ‘financing mitigation and adaptation projects’ (FMAP) of Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs).
The board of the Green Climate Fund, which is an entity set up by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), approved a $200 million loan and $15.6 million grant for capacity building to SIDBI. A press release issued by SIDBI says that the FMAP facility would provide “nearly 10,000 concessional loans to MSMEs”,
To promote low-emission, climate-resilient technologies. The FMAP programme is expected to result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of 35.3 million tonnes. Adaptation activities would lead to “substantial water savings” and building resilience in vulnerable communities, “benefiting more than 10.8 million beneficiaries, it says.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), according to its website, is “the world’s largest dedicated climate fund”. It is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The loan to SIDBI is part of funding approvals worth $1 billion for 17 projects in 35 developing countries.
India’s central bank sold ₹34 billion ($406 million) of bonds in the secondary market, likely to absorb excess cash in the banking system resulting from inflows into the nation’s debt after being included in a global index, according to a Bloomberg report. India’s banking system liquidity has shifted to a surplus after being in deficit for most of the year,
due to government spending post-elections and the central bank’s actions. Excess liquidity that banks deposit with the central bank stood at 1.4 trillion rupees, according to a Bloomberg Economics index. India became the 25th market to be included in the index since its inception in June 2005.
This inclusion is expected to attract global inflows of $20 billion to $25 billion into the Indian bond market. Market traders are eagerly anticipating the federal budget on Tuesday to assess the government's borrowing strategy for the fiscal year. The government plans to borrow 14.1 trillion rupees through bonds in the financial year that commenced on April 1.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has revised its guidelines regarding the commission for long-term motor insurance policies. The recent policy change brings these long-term policies in line with the standard one-year motor insurance policies.
Under the updated regulation, insurers are now permitted to provide commissions within the expense management framework for long-term policies. For three-year comprehensive motor insurance policies for four-wheelers, the commission cap was originally set at 15% for the first year, 10% for the second year, and 5% for the third year.
The recent guidelines have granted insurers the freedom to tailor commission structures according to their management expenses.
TerraPay, a prominent FinTech company, has announced a new capability for financial institutions to directly send money to over 2.1 billion mobile wallets globally via their existing Swift network. This integration aims to improve the efficiency and transparency of cross-border payments, benefiting both businesses and consumers.
Swift, an established player in the financial sector, connects over 11,500 financial institutions across more than 200 countries, offering robust transaction tracking capabilities. The collaboration between TerraPay and Swift is designed to leverage Swift’s comprehensive network and TerraPay’s innovative payment infrastructure to enhance the cross-border payment experience.
Rashtriya Raksha University, Lavad, Gandhinagar and National Stock Exchange International Exchange (NSE IX) and National Stock Exchange International Clearing (NSEICC) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at fostering cooperation and innovation in the field of economic and financial security.
The MoU was signed between the dignitaries of RRU, Gandhinagar NSE IX, and NSEICC during a physical ceremony held at the RRU Campus in Lavad, Gandhinagar. Through this MoU, we aim to conduct collaborative research projects, design and execute joint online and offline certification programs, and facilitate capacity building for students and faculty.
All duties of Myanmar's figurehead president have been transferred to the chief of the ruling junta, Min Aung Hlaing, after the nominal head of state was placed on medical leave following a period of prolonged illness, Myanmar has been in engulfed in chaos since Feb. 2021 when the military led by Min Aung Hlaing ousted an elected civilian government in a coup,
triggering a wave of protests that has transformed into a nationwide armed rebellion against the junta. Although Myint Swe, 73, is only a figurehead president, the junta has depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule, which is struggling to contain an expanding civil war and manage a crumbling economy.
